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Women Compete in Day One of BYU Invite
BYU women compete in first day of BYU Invitational
Sept. 20, 2007 PROVO, Utah - The BYU women's tennis team competed under the hot sun on Thursday as it hosted the Women's Invitational at the outdoor tennis courts. "It's good to start playing," said head coach Craig Manning. "It was hot today but we played well. There were a couple of really close matches that could have gone either way." Sophomore Chie Hayasaka competed in a hard fought singles match against Colorado State's Hilary Tyler in the first round. Hayasaka won the first set 6-4, but went on to lose the next two sets. Newcomer Elle Carney faced a similar situation against CSU's Lauren Strasburger, losing in three sets. Another Cougar was eliminated from the singles tournament when Dolly Chang fell to Utah's Kane Krynchkova 6-2, 6-2. "This was my first match for singles so I guess I'm still trying to find my rhythm," said Chang. "[Krynchkova] is a tough player. She doesn't miss much." Freshman Elizaveta Ezhova defeated Weber State's Inalise Pinaar in the first round and advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Utah's Leigh Walsh 6-3, 6-1. Ezhova will face Polina Kokoulina from Boise State on Friday. Christina Doerr will also compete in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Chang and her partner Jocelyn Jensen kicked off the doubles tournament by facing Weber State's Ashley Schapper and Keya Adamson. Chang and Jensen soundly defeated their opponents 8-2, solidifying their first match together as a success. Doerr and Carney, who also competed together for the first time, advanced to the doubles quarterfinals as well. "I think [the match] went well," said Doerr. "We have good chemistry together. We both were steady at the net and had good returns." Coach Manning was pleased with his team's overall performance. "During the first day of tennis we're trying to see what we need to work on," he said. "Something special about this team is its awesome chemistry, which I'm really happy about. Hopefully we can play well tomorrow and build on a pretty good start." Play will begin tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at the BYU outdoor tennis facilities and will continue throughout the day. Admission to the tournament is free. The BYU outdoor tennis courts are located just south of the Smith Fieldhouse and the entrance is on the east side. Public parking is not available on Thursday or Friday in the BYU Y parking lots until 4 p.m., but all BYU lots are open to the public all day Saturday. In case of inclement weather, play will resume at the indoor tennis courts adjacent to the outdoor facility.
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